GALLIERA VENETA, ITALY — The Pavan Group recently installed equipment for pet food company Giuntini, including a multi-purpose line able to produce four types of pet food with only one extruder.

Giuntini wanted to produce two different sticks, kibbles of different shapes and dimensions and stuffed croquettes, the finest quality products in its entire line. 

Pavan Group said it applied its production technologies in breakfast cereals and snacks to the creation of a system able of responding to this important customer’s request.

The heart of the system is a twin-screw TT70 extruder used by Pavan for the production of various types of breakfast cereals and it is suitable also for the production of co-extruded items. 

The production line for co-extruded kibbles in fact represents the evolution of pet food, presenting a stuffed product with two different formulations for internal and external coating. 

Besides the standard dried croquette, which is produced in various formats, the line can produce the “multi-flavor” kibbles, in different colors, thanks to a device for fast production change, which drastically reduces product waste. 

Also the “Crancy” dental stick is produced with the multi-purpose line, reaching a capacity of approximately 500 kg/h. 

Upstream of the extruder, the flours are handled by a Golfetto Sangati system. The raw material is produced in the feed mill and fed to the dosing cells by means of a pressurized transport system. The dosing unit consists of 7 main cells, 4 big-bags for special products and an electronic scale up to 500 kg. The dosed product is delivered to a mixing unit to be homogenized. The mixture is then sieved through a single-channel plansifter, to remove any coarse particles.

The waste product is grounded by means of a hammer mill model MSB-60/60 equipped with a grid with 1mm holes, and then it is conveyed to the sieving area by means of a suction pneumatic line, consisting of filter-cyclone and high-pressure blower. The finished mixture is conveyed to a deposit cell feeding the TT extruder. The whole flour section is served by a general suction line complete with LPF bag filter. 

Downstream, the process differs according to the product. After extrusion, which occurs with pre-defined inserts to differentiate shapes and dimensions, according to the finished product line, the kibbles are conveyed to the dryer by means of a pneumatic suction system. 

This is a specific model with a direct gas burner capable of reaching particularly high temperatures. 

The product is then deposited on a vibrating screener equipped with a weighing system: part of the powder is removed and the real production capacity is verified, in order to adjust the following greasing system. 

The product is subsequently led through a screw to a static cooler, which stabilizes the product, and then it is conveyed to the first storage area, in big-bags.

The production of stuffed kibbles is done by inserting a specific filling group, which allows the co-extrusion; after cutting, the product is introduced in a ginning unit that separates the pieces before the drying and cooling stages.

The sticks, extruded in groups of 6 or 18, depending on the type, are conveyed by belt directly to the cutting unit that determines the length, embosses the grooves which enable the break-up of the product as desired by the customer. 

In this production further drying or additive treatment is not necessary, and the product is directly pre-stored in bags.